:: what a BEAuty ::

Fun. Colorful. Used a lot of stuff.  Got to play.  #winning.

What a BEAuty (<<< see what I did there?).  Quite a bit of Amy Tangerine Finder's Keepers made it on to this layout. Amy Tan's stuff always matches that water color look, which I happen to completely dig. 

Lots of layers, which mostly came from cards in SWAG bags, and I added a flair from {a flair for buttons} that matched perfectly (and reminds me to breathe, which is helpful). 

The story is simple. It's about a girl, dressed like her favorite fairy, watching Batman (and sometimes, she is Batman -- mostly on the weekends).

A splash of color all over the background -- made by me, using gelatos. I love me some gelatos. 

I'm sharing this one with the ladies over in the Paper Issues {friends & fans} Facebook group. They are really a fun group of peeps. Each month there are tons of challenges and ways to play along (and possibly win a gift card to the Paper Issues Store). I based this layout on the Scrap Lift Sunday challenge. Each Sunday a layout is posted, and we get to lift it! This past week's layout was create by PI girl Mary-Ann Maldonado.

Pop in and check out all the goings on! If your looking to purchase some of the new goodies in the Paper Issues Store -- don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase!

:: strike a pose ::

Amy Tangerine Finder's Keepers collection + free cut file from Paper Issues = 

Shopping at Target with Daddy -- these are the photos that get texted to me. I am so lucky to have them both.

I love it when I get to use a direct "B. quote" as part of my journaling!

In this case, I also couldn't resist a bit of Madonna. Look at B. ham it up! So lucky to have her. 

I'm sharing this to our Paper Issues {Friends and Fans} group, because those stars are from a free cut file used in the most recent Cut it Out Saturday on the Paper Issues Blog.

Want to grab those free files?  Want some Amy Tangerine? There are also some super fun fall lines in the shop (it's starting to cool off here, is it where you are?)!  Grab what you need in the store and use the code orange gearle for 20% off your entire purchase!

..:: PaperPOPs : what's in my planner ::..

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new addiction.

See that cute flamingo in my planner -- it's called a PaperPOP and it's awesomely cute.  There are tons of different styles and they are made by Jen Chesnick of Parker On the Porch, and they are in the Paper Issues Store, here.  I used glue dots to put a paper clip on this one to use in my planner. 

This is how that cute little flamingo looks in my planner this week:

This is my labor day week spread in my Get To Work Book (that I am loving). I used papers and die cuts from Amy Tangerines latest collection Finders Keepers, and, of course, some water colors.

I used two different sized flat brushes to go all around the outside of the page with pink and orange (inspired by Amy Tan's papers). Then I painted the three squares along the side where my major tasks go and the days of the week along the top (I pretty much do something like that each week). I added two more squares above and below using patterned papers from the Finders Keepers Collection. To unify them a bit, I mimicked stitches using a black pen around the edges (to be transparent, I go this idea from one of the Amy Tan's papers, too)! 

This is my labor day week spread, and even though it was a three day weekend, it was a busy one, so as I was creating, I was looking forward to some time at home. I grabbed a new date stamp by Dear Lizzy and stamped pretty please several times on Saturday's day. Added a die cut of a house, and wrote 'let's stay home' with the typewriter and watercolors.

Check out this blogpost at Paper Issues for more inspiration.  Gotta grab some PaperPOPs or Amy tangerine papers, or jus about anything else?  Don't forget to use the code orangegearle for 20% off your order!

:: TIME :: amy tangerine product feature

It's time for another product feature on the Paper Issues blog!  Today we are using Amy Tangerine's Rise & Shine Collection!

The story that I am documenting today is about the passage of time.  The photos of B. with the binky were taken two years ago at Morgan Creek park.  The other photos were taken this year at the same park, climbing the same fence.  The park is a go to place for us, and apparently climbing the fence is a favorite (but if you follow my blog and stories of B. you know that climbing anything has always been a favorite)!

The templates for the cut file came from an Ali Edwards story kit, and when I saw all the lovely colors and patterns in this collection, I knew I wanted to use them with this cut file! So. Yummy.

I added stitching and I journaled around the biggest circle.

The layout wouldn't be complete without a flair from {aflairforbuttons}! I used a piece of flair from this batch.

Seriously loved working with these patterned papers! 

Grab some of your own at The Paper Issues Store!  Don't forget to use the code orangegearle at checkout for 20% off your total order!

:: oh blah card -- what????? ::

I'm not really a card maker.  But lately I have enjoyed trying to stretch myself a bit! A friend of mine was going through a difficult time, and so I grabbed some snarky stamps (which are made exclusively for Paper Issues and available at this link), and got to work!

I used mostly items from Amy Tangerine's stitched collection.  I love the pretty flower paper!!! The soft pretty front of this card is a nice contrast to the "naughtiness" of the inside of the card!

I used white card stock to stamp words and phrases over and over using Snarky Stamps. Then I used a couple of different sized circle punches to add my sentiment.  I popped both circles up a bit with pop dots.

This was a super easy one, and I love how it turned out! I may end up being a card maker after all!

If you'd like to grab some Snarky Stamps or Amy Tangerine for yourself, or any of the other yummy stuff in the store -- don't forget to use the code orangegearle for 20% off your purchase!

:: look mom, i'm rich ::

Have you documented Easter, yet?  I'm getting to it.  Today I'm sharing a layout inspired by a quote heard from my daughter on Easter at my parent's house.

I just love those alphas from Amy Tangerine's new line.  I grabbed some patterned papers from her new Rise & Shine collection, too, and came up with this layout!

I love the colors in this collection! I thought they went perfectly with this photo and story! My mom always puts a little money in the Easter Eggs for the kids. After they find all their hidden eggs, they go through the loot on the living room floor.  She told us how rich she is.  In the journaling for this LO, I agreed with her. 

And since she can always find joy, I just had to add this flair from {aflairforbuttons} -- and another in the upper left corner of the layout.  The colors and sentiments match this layout perfectly.  You can grab some from Shelly's shop, here.

I'm linking this up to the Eggs-cellent Add-ventures link party at Paper Issues!  One more day to enter old or new projects and be eligible for a $20 Gift Certificate from our sponsor, 17turtles!

See you soon!

:: project life : week 6 ::

Hi!  Today I'm sharing 2015: Week 6!

:: week 6 left ::

This week I dug into my huge stash of Project Life core/mini kits.  I was feeling a bit watercolor-y (totally a word), so I grabbed Amy Tangerine's Plus One mini kit and the 6x6 paper pad from the collection and got busy!

:: week 6 right ::

I got out my gelatos and a water brush and "painted" the words Friday, Saturday, Sunday on that 3x4 card.  This was mainly just to add some color, but also the stuff on that page is from those three days, too.  I also painted the "here we go" which was originally white. I also had a story to tell without a photo -- so guess what I did?  I told the story (on the Today card) without a photo.  :-) This is how it looks all together:

:: week 6 spread ::

As always I love working with products that Amy Tangerine has designed! The 6x6 pad had little cards in it like the "xoxo", "so this happened" and "brand new".  I cut those up and added them as embellishments to the cards. I love the way that turned out!

The Plus One 6x6 paper pad is still available in the Paper Issues store if you are interested.  Don't forget to use the code orangegearle to receive 20% off your entire purchase!

Thanks for stopping by.  See you again soon!

:: game on ::

Seriously. Love. Amy. Tangerine.

For this layout I used a couple of 12x12 papers from Amy's "Stitched" collection, and a few from the 6x6 paper pad.  I love all the circles.  I stitched around some of them, and punched out some extra circles to pop up with pop dots. I also took this chance to use the "Comrade" embroidery (letter) stencils from the same collection for the word "GAME".    All of these items can be found at the Paper Issues store, of course!

I'm linking this LO up to the current issue at the Paper Issues blog: Get Your Game On.  You have another week to play along for a chance to win a gift certificate to the Paper Issues store!  

Don't forget to use the code orangegearle to get 20% off your order at the Paper Issues Store!

:: darling boy ::

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of babysitting my grandson, B.  He is so flipping cute!

For this layout I used a bunch of Amy Tangerine 6x6 papers and the stamps that are in the Plus One collection. I also used a few random embellishments from some past Swag Bags at Paper Issues.

See that awesome cut file in the background?  I purchased this at a (newish) etsy store that my friend Ashley Horton has called The Cut Shoppe.  Ashley also has a blog of the same name where she frequently has challenges and sketches to go alone with her cut files! I think I'm going to try to play along with the August sketch & challenge.  Don't worry, I'll share!


Thanks for stopping by!

:: make pretty things ::

I love it when things just work! That often happens when I start with a good sketch or when I start with inspiring papers. Today I was lucky enough to have both!

This LO is based on a sketch that I got from this fun community that I am a part of called Scrap Happy!

For this layout I used squares from the 6x6 paper pad by Amy Tangerine; her Plus One collection. I purchased the paper pad and quite a few 12x12 papers also part of the Plus One collection from Paper Issues.  I added some washi from my stash and the enamel dots are some that I made with perler beads.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cute the title out of black card stock (Bebas font). I also use my Cameo for "pretty" -- this was a file by Loni Stevens that I downloaded from the Silhouette store. I decided to use the reverse image for "things". I used my gelatos, scrap of white card stock, and a water pen for the background of "things". I wanted to mimic the water color look in so many of the Amy Tangerine papers!

I used my Cameo to cut out these two tags as well.  One tag is just orange paper for my journaling, the other tag was cut from another piece of the 6x6 Plus One paper pad.  The original is b&w, so I added a little bit of color with a yellow gelato and water pen. I used the same papers and technique for the arrow that points to the word "Make" (I cut the arrow with my Cameo, too, using this file.

I love that I got this little "short" story in the books.  I extra love when Bea decides that she would like to make stuff like Mommy.

I am gearing up for LayOut A Day in May (LOAD514). So exciting! I've talked about LOAD in several previous posts, and shared some of the layouts that I have made. Are you interested in joining me for LOAD in May?  It's not too late to sign up!   Click here to view more details about LOAD514 and how to sign up.

Thanks for stopping by!

:: handmade journal ::

So.... a couple of weeks ago I participated in TWO days of classes, with many awesome instructors, all online.  Throughout True Scrap 5, and since then, I have been inspired to try a zillion new things, but cursed with little time to implement. However, I do have some fun to share today! One of the classes was taught by Heidi Swapp.  She made an awesome journal with scrapbook papers, a composition notebook, and her Cinch machine.  I loved it, so I tried it (did I mention that I bought a Cinch right after True Scrap 5?)!

Cover

I haven't decided how I'm going to "close" this.  I may do what Heidi did and add an embellishment on the front that the flap can go behind. Or I might just use some ribbon.  I'll have to think on that for a bit before I commit.  ;-)

I used a paper pad by Amy Tangerine for just about everything (the cover, inside pages, etc.).  I think that made it a bit easier because everything works together quite nicely!  The only other thing I added was a journal that I got from Michael's a while back. I knew I'd use it someday (I think it was just a buck)!  I'm not going to bother you with every page, but here are a few!

Cover Open

I made a couple of "pockets" and made tags to go inside the pockets.

Notice that paper on the left...it comes up later!

The front of the journal I purchased at Michael's

....and the inside of that journal

You guessed it, the back of the journal!

I added a few pocket protectors throughout the book

I used gelatos on the right page to create an ombre effect (it started B&W, see above)!

I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with it.  It will likely be a journal of some sort, with photos...so maybe a mini book?  I dunno.  I'm sure I'll add a few little details as I work with it. Thanks for stopping by!